There was only so much different that the Boyd-Buchanan doubles tandem of Katie Delay and Makenna Thomas could throw at Collegedale Academy's Matti Sue Nafie and Emily Wilt, considering they had met three times on tennis courts in the previous two weeks.
"We know how each other plays," Thomas said. "We know each other's weaknesses and strengths."
So Delay and Thomas just had to go out and win the Region 3-A/AA title against a duo that reached the state semifinals a year ago. And they did.
The 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 win Tuesday at the Champions Club gave the Lady Bucs one of the eight spots in next week's state individual tournament, which begins Thursday at Old Fort Park in Murfreesboro. They will be joined by teammate Christina Amos, who defeated Silverdale Baptist Academy's McKaylah Hicks 6-3, 6-1 for the singles title.
Like Boyd-Buchanan's girls, Hixson's boys swept the individual titles. Alex Condra advanced to his first state tournament with a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Grace Academy's Josh Fisher, while Carl Phillips and Landon Goforth outlasted Silverdale's Jameson Mench and Hunter Hoskins in three sets despite Phillips injuring his knee in warmups.
Delay and Thomas held a 4-1 lead in the second set, only to watch Nafie and Wilt reel off five straight wins and force a third set.
"We had to become more mentally tough in the third set," said Delay, a state singles participant last season -- defeating Thomas in the region final.
Amos has improved throughout the season. She said she felt pretty good about her chances to win the championship after seeing Hicks win her semifinal match, considering she'd defeated the Lady Seahawk in straight sets to win the district title recently.
"It's going to take a while for this to sink in," she said of the victory. "(Hicks) did a good job. I just want to thank God for giving me this opportunity.
"I'm glad I'm going to have a chance to represent the school this way."
The Lady Bucs can advance as a team as well, as they will host Notre Dame in a Class A/AA sectional Thursday at the Brainerd recreation courts at 4. Hixson's boys will host Region 4 champion Signal Mountain on Friday at the Racquet Club at 6:30.
* Region 3-AAA: There will be a pair of area teams advancing to the state individual tournament in AAA. Cleveland's Jake Gibson and Shivang Patel won the boys' doubles title, while Soddy-Daisy's Olivia Crawley and Chloe Mitchell were victorious in girls' doubles.
Both teams will host Siegel in sectional matches. The Blue Raiders will face the Stars at 1 at Lee University in Cleveland, while the Lady Trojans will play Siegel's girls at 4 at the Champions Club.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him at twitter.com/genehenleytfp.